British firms warned of delay in energy bills support, reports say
British businesses have been warned by government officials that they will have to wait longer than households for financial support with their energy bills amid delays in launching the £150bn scheme, according to reports.
Company bosses are increasingly worried about the prospect of delays to the arrival of support because fixed energy contracts come to an end in October for hundreds of thousands of firms.
Business leaders have been told by government officials in recent meetings that the support scheme for companies may not be ready until November, the Financial Times reported, although it cited officials who hope the package could still be activated next month.
Firms across many sectors of the economy have been warning for weeks that they may not survive the winter as a result of soaring energy bills.
Businesses broadly welcomed the six-month support scheme announced last week by the new prime minister, Liz Truss, but they are still waiting for details on how it would work.
The support being offered to households will freeze energy bills at an average of £2,500 a year for the next two years from 1 October, replacing the existing Ofgem energy price cap.
However, the separate scheme described as offering “equivalent support” to businesses has turned out to be more complicated because they are not covered by the energy price cap. Ministers and officials are reportedly struggling to find a mechanism for setting a limit to businesses’ energy costs.
An emergency budget to set out more detail on energy support and bring in winter tax cuts for millions of people is expected from the government late next week, once the country emerges from national mourning after the death of the Queen.
Truss has been under pressure from her own party
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